A reader might ask whether this book, originally published in 1962, has any relevancy now. You might ask a farmer in India who has destroyed their araA reader might ask whether this book, originally published in 1962, has any relevancy now. You might ask a farmer in India who has destroyed their arable land with the over/mis-use of prescribed chemical fertilizers and are committing suicide over their insurmountable debts, or beekeepers around the world who have documented the alarming incidence of colony collapse disorder stemming from chemical sprays that threatens our food supply today.

Carson, a marine biologist by training, lays out an argument against the broadscale use of insecticides, notably DDT, which was banned in the United States in 1972 but continues to be used to fight malaria in other countries. In example after example of government sanctioned drives to eradicate one specific invasive species through chemical means that ends up being counterproductive (the target species was able to adapt to the chemical agents, but the spraying killed off their natural predators), but more expensive than established biological means, especially in terms of environmental impact and loss of life. Instead of attempting alternative means, Carson documents the escalation of chemical use with more and more toxic agents.

Indiscriminately spraying thousands or millions of acres kills other insects, fish, birds and flora, and it works its way into the ecosystem, the water table, and up the food chain to humans. It is not just the chemicals that are dangerous, but their long-term accumulation in fatty tissues as well as the combination with other chemicals that causes damage over months and decades. This comes with increased health risks, notably cancer. Although many of the chemicals that she mentions in the book have been banned/restricted in most countries, the impact is the same for other chemicals we continue to use even more broadly. Federalizer and waste runoff from industrialized farming is currently polluting the world’s waterways and causing eutrophication, or the killing off of almost all life in the streams, lakes and oceans. Cocktails of chemicals are being pushed beneath the water table in the name of cheap energy by fracking and shale oil extraction. The over-prescription of antibiotics is creating "super germs" for which there is nothing left in our arsenal to fight against them.

While Carson does not make a case for the complete elimination of pesticides (thought she hardly makes an argument for them), she suggests taking a more informed approach using nature’s own tools first (natural predators, thoughtful plantings) before taking the step to use targeted and limited spraying. Note that nature has been at this game for millions of years; the industrial chemical industry got started in WWII.

Silent Spring has been credited with midwifing the environmental movement, showing that an individual can have a positive impact by delivering the right message at the right time. This book helped spawn a grassroots movement that pushed for environmental regulations including the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, both of which were signed by republican president, Richard Nixon. This legislation is now under attack by the cabinet of the 45th president of the United States, who is gutting the EPA and limiting its impact. The only way to stop this reversal is to vote for candidates who want to protect the lives and health of our citizens, not just the corporations who are contributing to their election campaigns....more